Porn-watching pizza makers on strike in Ireland

Workers at an Irish plant are on strike – because they can’t watch porn while making pizza.

The staff at Green Isle Foods in County Kildare have set up a strike after three workers were fired last month for allegedly viewing “adult material” while on the job at a pizza-making plant.

The strikers have won cross-union support for their protest, with the Irish Congress of Trade Unions granting the Technical, Engineering and Electrical Union (TEEU) permission for a picket at the Naas factory.

The Kildare city expects major disruptions on Monday if other union members, such as suppliers and post office employees, refuse to pass the picket line.

While Green Isle Foods claims the three workers breached the company’s internet policy by viewing porn, their union says they are being scapegoated.

"One of our members received an email from outside the plant and was essentially dismissed for receiving an email," TEEU general secretary designate, Eamon Devoy told the Belfast Telegraph.

The TEEU said the employees were in actuality fired due to a separate incident in which the company sent a top secret file about seven other firings to a worker by mistake.

The employees who viewed the file were asked to sign a confidentiality agreement and faced suspension.

The TEEU said it was forced to take action because Green Isle Foods refused to negotiate a fair disciplinary process.